Podesta to work on photonics issues - Veterans Day lobbying roundup - Chiesa back to Wolff & Samson

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PODESTA TO WORK ON PHOTONICS ISSUES: The International Society for Photo-Optical Instrumentation has signed the Podesta Group to work on issues for the light application industry. The photonics industry — a manufacturing component of electronics, medical imaging and defense technologies — is represented by an alliance called the National Photonics Initiative, which put forth a lengthy collection of policy recommendations this past spring. The alliance’s two founding sponsors, SPIE and the Optical Society of America are both clients of Podesta and name the initiative’s efforts toward U.S. funding and investment in photonics-driven fields in their lobbying registrations. Josh Holly, Beth Inadomi, Oscar Ramirez and Elizabeth Sage will work on the accounts.

VETERANS DAY LOBBYING ROUNDUP: In honor of Veterans Day, PI takes a look at some of the advocacy groups working on veterans issues. The AARP, National Security Foundation, the Air Force Sergeants Association, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the American Nurses Association andthe Fleet Reserve Association are among the dozens of groups that have listed veterans issues in lobbying reports this year alone. Issues include: the proposal to use chained CPI as part of cost-of-living adjustments, the Defense Authorization bill, TRICARE issues, sexual assault issues and many, many others.

GOOD MONDAY AFTERNOON where PI is wishing all who served — and their loved ones — a happy Veterans Day. The holiday celebrates the armistice that ended the first World War, which came into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Send your lobbying news, gossip, tips and scoops to btau@politico.com. And keep up with PI on Twitter by following @ByronTau or @PoliticoPI.

CHIESA BACK TO WOLFF & SAMSON: Former Sen. Jeffrey S. Chiesa has rejoined the firm Wolff & Samson. He served briefly as an interim replacement in the Senate after the death of Frank Lautenberg. He was replaced by Cory Booker. “I could not be more pleased to welcome Jeff back to Wolff & Samson,” said David Samson, founding member of the firm. “Jeff embodies a level of integrity and professionalism that deservedly earns him the highest degree of respect among clients and colleagues alike. Having served as chief counsel to Governor Christie and as the State’s Attorney General, Jeff’s legal acumen is unrivaled. His return to the firm underscores Wolff & Samson’s commitment to ensure that we provide our clients with the most skilled counsel available. We know he will enjoy a seamless transition back into our firm, and we are delighted to welcome him.”

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CEOS TO IRS: CUT BACK RED TAPE: The Business Roundtable, an organization of CEOs, asked the IRS on Friday to ease their burden in complying with the Affordable Care Act. They want the agency to cut back the number of forms companies must submit and reduce the number of personal details on employee relatives they must provide. The story, for Pros: http://politico.pro/HRBwUj

TECH AMERICA SUES ITI: POLITICO’s Tony Romm: Washington-based trade group TechAmerica is suing a rival, the Information Technology Industry Council, arguing that lobbyists poached by ITI accessed and used their former employer’s confidential documents. In a lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, TechAmerica says that three of the employees it lost this week to ITI — which represents companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft — conspired in their new positions to use old contacts and other information acquired while at TechAmerica to help ITI find new clients for its neophyte effort focused on government procurement. TechAmerica is now seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to protect what it believes is a risk to its trade secrets — as well as at least $5 million in compensatory damages on top of whatever punitive awards it can obtain from the court. More here: http://politi.co/1fwdI4t

TOM STEYER’S BILLION DOLLAR CRUSADE: Liberal billionaire Tom Steyer spent nearly $8 million from his own personal fortune to make an example of Republican Ken Cuccinelli for his arch-conservative views on the environment. The sum is more than three times the investment that’s been previously reported, and it nearly matched what the Republican Governors Association, the largest GOP outside spender, put into the Virginia governor’s race. It is more money, on a per-vote basis, than the famously prolific conservative donors Sheldon and Miriam Adelson spent in the 2012 presidential election. Steyer’s political committee, NextGen Climate Action, publicly entered the Virginia race in August by paying to air a wave of television ads produced by Democratic Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe’s campaign. The spots blistered Cuccinelli for launching an investigation into the research activities of a University of Virginia climate scientist. More from Alex Burns and Andrew Restuccia: http://politi.co/17OUVC6

ELSEWHERE IN THE INFLUENCE WORD:

E-CIGARETTE MAKERS WIN IN EUROPE: “A determined lobbying campaign, marrying corporate interests in a fledgling but fast-growing industry with voices elicited from the general public, was aimed at a compelling public health issue: whether e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without burning tobacco, should be regulated as medicinal products, just as nicotine patches are.” http://cnb.cx/17j7lMD

RAISING CAIN: Herman Cain is fighting back against allegations of sexual harassment during his time as National Restaurant Association head. http://bit.ly/17qkJny

DISCLOSURE FIGHT: Sunlight pushes back against a New York Times op-ed about the perils of disclosure. http://bit.ly/HJbaUM (h/t Adam Smith)

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